Ex-Big Brother contestant George Gilbert reveals comments that got him booted from ITV reality show - what did he say?
Booted Big Brother housemate George Gilbert has revealed the comments he made inside the house that resulted in him being removed from the show.
Bosses at the ITV reality show confirmed last week that George had been removed from the famous house after repeated warnings over “unacceptable language and behaviour”. It was confirmed at the time that the comments that led to his expulsion from the show would not be broadcast as they contradicts broadcasting standards.
George, 23 from Essex, has since opened up on his Big Brother experience, revealing some of the comments that earned him a warning from Big Brother producers and his eventual boot from the show. He took YouTube to reveal all about his departure from the show.
George said that the comments that were the final straw for producers came during a discussion around “conspiracy theories” with fellow housemates. He insisted that other contestants had him “fired up” while discussing famous conspiracy theories such including those surrounding the moon landings and the construction of the pyramids.
He said: “I think it’s terrible that antisemitism is on the rise in London; we need to stamp it out. My heart goes out to all the Jews who are innocently discriminated against. Certainly, in this country, we’re more equality-driven than any other country, some may say. It’s heartbreaking that people are living in fear.”
George, who admitted that he should’ve been “more sensible” and used a “careful tone”, when on to say to his fellow housemates: “I do understand why people are sceptical about some Jewish conspiracy at the top of the pecking order because some of the finest minds in human history (giving Shakespeare and Roald Dahl as examples)… some of the most intellectual men, they all had antisemitic tropes in their writings. Is it a case of no smoke without fire, I wonder?”
George then attempted to defend his comments, telling viewers on his YouTube channel that he believed he had been chucked out of the Big Brother house for “asking a question”. He said: “Last time I checked, this is a democracy. You are allowed to ask questions, because that’s freedom of speech. But no.”
He admitted that he could understand why asking the question was “provocative”, but added: “I’m just asking a question because I wanted to know why antisemitism has lasted for centuries. Then I can fight the right battle.” George also said that producers had said his comments came across as preaching, to which he said: “I wasn’t. If my housemates were more clued up on these topics, I’d still be in there.”
Reports in The Sun at the time suggested that his fellow housemates were “disgusted” by his comments. A source told the newspaper: “Nobody could believe what he said - he was clearly out to shock people.”
There were also other offensive comments made by George in the Big Brother house that led to him receiving warnings during his time on the show but were not televised due them also breaching broadcasting standards.
This included George labelling Adolf Hitler as “misguided”, saying: “I don’t believe anybody is intrinsically good or evil. He did the things he did because he would’ve been fed a pack of lies about Jewish people.”
These comments led to George receiving his first verbal warning from Big Brother. He was also given a formal warning on his third night in the house after a discussion about procreation. He said at the time that he feels “obligated to procreate with someone to can pass on the red hair gene”, added: “If I was to go have a baby with a Black woman, I feel like I’d be betraying my kind.”
Viewers previously saw George receive a formal warning after using limp wrist gestures to imitate LGBTQ+ housemate Sam during a game of truth or dare. The moment saw Sam pull George for a conversation to explain that it had impacted him deeply and took him back to his school days where he was bullied for his personality.
George was also seen on screen often initiating controversial debates and conversations, including going back and forth with 18-year-old Teja over immigration as well as implying that the inclusion of a kiss between gay couple in the Disney animated film Buzz Lightyear was “pornographic”.